Virtual reality has become a popular and viable way to game over the last decade. Polls show that in the US alone are over 57,000,000 virtual reality users. Blockbuster games like the recent Half-Life: Alyx have helped to bring an immense surge to virtual reality gaming.
If you’ve been looking into VR gaming, we’re here to help. Here are the pros and cons of VR gaming and how satisfied gamers are with the genre.
Pros of VR Gaming
To begin with, let’s dive into the positives. There’s a great deal of positive buzz around VR gaming that keeps players interested.
Incredible Immersion
One of the notable benefits is undoubtedly the unique immersion experience. Once you put a virtual reality headset on, the game is all you see. While you can usually hear others around you, you’re completely placed into a new reality.
This helps provide a more immersive experience for gamers. Horror games are more horrific and action games feel more intense. Just make sure you don’t forget and knock over a motion sensor!
The recent announcement of the PSVR2 - PlayStation Virtual Reality 2 - promises to help push this experience even further. Games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain have already been revealed and promise a stellar experience with the new advancements Sony has made.
Reactive Gameplay
In virtual reality, the player is the controller. Most headsets come with hand controllers that put the motion of your hands into the game.
Not only does this help with immersion, but with more quickly-responding controls. Sensitivity rarely needs to be adjusted as well since it follows the tracking of your hands, which most users don’t need to adjust.
Unique Experience
Virtual reality gaming offers an experience only virtual reality can offer. One thing that many have found interesting is how ads work in a virtual reality space. Some companies have worked advertisements into virtual reality, even adding full tours and demos of products within a virtual space.
Cons of VR Gaming
Unfortunately, not everything is perfect in virtual reality. The lack of proper esports online entertainment, for example, harms many gamers’ interest in the genre. Here are the most common areas where VR can improve.
High Cost
Though the cost is steadily lowering, entry-level systems are still exceptionally expensive. The costs are high enough that this is the only thing stopping many from joining.
It’s especially the case with high-quality systems. There are many third-party or small companies that release their budget headsets, but these are typically inferior. A high-quality set is better to prevent eye strain and provide a quality experience.
Motion Issues
Many players also have reported being unable to play virtual reality games because of severe motion sickness. Virtual Reality Skyrim and other games that use a click-and-move system are notorious for inflicting this.
It also requires a decent amount of space to have a secured connection and a safe area where you can play virtual reality. These combine to make it so that even if a gamer can afford a virtual reality set, they may not have the space to fit it. Given the safety constraints to ensure you don’t hit someone, a lack of space can be another reason someone cannot play.
Limited Catalog
The final con will hopefully improve with time - there just aren’t enough games on it. Many of the games on virtual reality at the moment show off the novelty of the system. It is like the release of the Wii when many games were of inferior quality and showed off the motion controls.
Not that all the games are of inferior quality, of course. Games like Beat Saber, Superhot, and Arizona Sunshine have placed focus on virtual reality for fantastic gaming experiences.
The recent PlayStation release announcement helps to fix this issue as well. When the new system comes out with new, rich gameplay experiences, it will probably help to revolutionize VR gaming.
Plugging In
Virtual reality is still a budding market, but one that has seen an incredible amount of success. From immersive gameplay to making advertisements enjoyable, the constantly growing genre will impress in the future. As the technology improves, issues with high costs and motion sickness will hopefully find fixes before too long.
If you have more questions about virtual reality gaming, contact us for more information.
